Christian Bale: People stereotype him as an idiot actor

Christian Bale (Photo: Solarpix / PR Photos)

Christian Bale says people stereotype him as an “idiot” actor.

The ‘Fighter’ actor loves to experience different cultures when he is filming in locations around the world but insists it is hard for him to have a normal experience because of the misconceptions people have about him and his Hollywood peers.

Asked what he would do if he wasn’t an actor, Christian told the US edition of Esquire magazine: “I think I probably would have tried to experience my own stories in the way my father did, the sort of travel, the randomness of life, educating himself through experiences.

“I think I get that partially through acting, but you have to make an effort to be in an unprotected environment because everyone thinks you’re a completely incapable idiot who couldn’t possibly brush his teeth without an assistant. You have to make an effort in order to be able to actually experience the country that you’re in.”

Christian – who plays Batman in the relaunched comic book film franchise – does find his huge fame a burden and admits he is still embarrassed about his days as a child star.

The 36-year-old actor – who got his first major break in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film ‘Empire of the Sun’ – said: “Well, it’s embarrassing to be a star. Most people look at you like, ‘That’s not a f***ing job, is it?’ And then on top of that, you learn very quickly that you’re just a tool – other people are manipulating everything you do and there’s nothing you can do.

“But I learned that there’s a certain character that can be built from embarrassing yourself endlessly. If you can sit happy with embarrassment, there’s not much else that can really get to you.”